The 19th century saw the first mention of “Shipshape and Bristol Fashion”, which was a reference to ships that were going in and out Bristol Harbor, Bristol, England. This port city is located several miles inland along the estuary for the River Avon. Bristol Harbor was the world’s second-highest tidal range, with more than 30 feet of fluctuation between low tide and high tide.
Ships would sink to the side due to their keels when there was a receding tide. Chaos would ensue if everything wasn’t properly secured or stowed away. Ships must be strong and secure to withstand this inevitable stranding. The “Shipshape” and “Bristol Fashion” were the names given to those who could withstand this challenge.
Bristol today has a floating harbour that allows ships to remain afloat regardless of the tide. The phrase still stands, indicating strength, security, and sound composition. Shipshape IT, like well-constructed boats, can see the inevitable tides and is ready to help you weather them by providing a solid structural foundation and secure assets.
It’s been a difficult year. It has been a difficult year for many, not least Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, who took advantage of the opportunities to amass more obscene wealth. We digress. It’s been very difficult: we have lost our incomes, lost our jobs, are in debt, face eviction, and have seen family members, friends, elders, and vulnerable members of our community fall ill and then die. We’ve seen 126,000+ people in Britain die. Many of these deaths could have been prevented. There has been a significant rise in domestic abuse. We have seen many women managing the triple shift of child and family care, home-schooling, and paid work. If they’ve managed to keep their jobs, that’s even better. In the face of the covid-19 epidemic, we’ve seen the government flounder and goof up.
We have been subjected to strange regulations, and we have had lockdown followed immediately by relaxations, then lockdown. We’ve witnessed government and state trying to balance “the economy” with our well-being and then gloriously screwing it up for us. This is not an aside. This is part of the current context of events in Bristol on 21 March, the first day and first day of spring, and effectively the first birthday of pandemic.
Bristol fashion: How to tackle congestion?
As with most major UK cities, Bristol is plagued by major congestion issues. This is despite the fact that two-car ownership rates are some of the highest in the country, and public transport dependency is uncommonly low. A PS68 million package has been created to get ‘Bristolians back on buses.
How can you convince people to give up their cars in favor of public transport? This is the dilemma that local authorities around the globe are trying to solve. Congestion charges and other measures will only go so far. The carrot that works, time after time, is to offer a public transportation system that is actually better. This means that you can guarantee certain levels of comfort, quality and reliability, as well as cost.
